Livingston’s post office opened in 1882, and 36% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 87% of U.S. towns · #4 of 42 in Montana. What drives it
16 places in town are on the National Register, among them five historic districts with 419 buildings between them. Below: 17 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1890.
The Livingston post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Clark (1882), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 2,850 in 18902020 census: 8,040144 years
How historic is Livingston?
A
More historic than 87% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Livingston post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Livingston’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Livingston is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns, #4 of 42 in Montana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Livingston’s overall grade.
Montana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Montana town has 12.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Livingston’s 495 sits above most of its state (95% of Montana towns have fewer) while its 435 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.3 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Livingston’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The founding of the small historical railroad and ranching town of Livingston is a direct result of the Northern Pacific Railway (NPR). This site became a centralized point in the Rocky Mountains and the NPR's location for railroad shops to service their steam trains before ascending the Bozeman Pass, the line's highest point, located immediately west. Livingston also became the first gateway town to America's first national park, Yellowstone, which the NPR promoted heavily to visitors from the East. The NPR also operated a branch line running 50 miles (80 km) south through Paradise Valley, first to Cinnabar station and later to Yellowstone's north entrance in Gardiner.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Livingston. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1951Livingston sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Livingston.
Every building
Livingston, building by building, 1884–1921
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1884Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewBird's eye view of Livingston, Mon., Gallatin County 1883, 1883
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Livingston’s page.
The Livingston post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Livingston rank for history?
Livingston is more historic than 87% of U.S. towns, #4 of 42 in Montana. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Livingston?
16 listings: 12 buildings and 5 historic districts with 419 contributing buildings. 435 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Livingston?
36% of Livingston’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 13% for a Montana town; the median home was built in 1954.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (15), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (17), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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